PUZZLES Tuesday, June 8, 2021 Changing Identity by Catherine Cetta Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Fence opening 5 Beet’s leafy relative 10 Unreturnable serve 13 Amazon assistant 15 Blender setting 16 Ewe’s mate 17 Words in a salad description 19 “I don’t need to know this,” in 3-Down 20 Has a meal at home 21 Took the place of 23 Blog feed letters 24 Expected 26 Earth: Prefix 27 Went on a wild goose chase, say 33 Tahoe and Titicaca 36 Be too sweet 37 Baby’s syllable 38 Give off 39 Stood out 40 “___ my lips!” 41 Hairstyling stuff 42 Ninth mo. 43 In a way, informally 44 What a student who never goes to class can earn? 48 Lead-in to “friendly” 49 Openly LGBTQ+ 50 ___-mo 53 Lemon pie topping 58 Large bin for grain 60 Pitching stat 61 Not conforming to male or female stereotypes, and a hint to the word scrambled within 17-, 27- and 44-Across 63 Bro or sis 64 Olympic swimmer’s unit 65 “May the ___ be with you” 66 “___ All That” (2021 film) 67 Atmosphere layer 68 Former Russian ruler DOWN 1 “Minecraft” fanatic, perhaps 2 Second name? 3 “TTYL” and “IMO,” for two 4 Past partners 5 EMT’s specialty 6 Shades 7 Pi*r-squared, for a circle 8 Tenant’s payment 9 Tattooist’s pattern 10 Copier at work? 11 G.I. garb 12 Middle Eastern ruler 14 Nike competitor 18 Bearded antelopes 22 Word before a former surname 25 Impressed deeply? 27 Moisten 28 Get to “I do” without ado 29 “Please stay!” 30 A Cyclops has only one 31 Milk source 32 Luke Skywalker’s mentor he was 33 Toy brick brand 34 “Hallelujah!” 35 Core workout goal 39 U-turn from NNW 40 Fish eggs 43 Trigger, as an alarm 45 Here, in Paris 46 Label in a health food aisle 47 German industrial valley 50 Urges (on) 51 German camera maker 52 Alphabetical ___ 53 Fit together well 54 The “E” of HOMES 55 “Aww, c’mon ...” 56 Golden rule word 57 Paradise in Genesis 59 Backbone of a novel? 62 Before, to a poet Near Miss by Rafael Musa Universal Crossword edited by David Steinberg ACROSS 1 Champagne- opening sounds 5 Impulsive 9 Pitfall 13 Country on Hispaniola 15 Meet ___ (encounter in “Love, Simon”) 16 Enormous 17 One eschewing synthetic pesticides (see letters 7 to 10 in this answer) 20 Command+Z, on a Mac 21 Gamer who might get pwned 22 “Leave it to me” 25 “Baby Cobra” comedian Wong 27 Islamic law 31 2017 hit whose title contains a fashion brand (4 to 7) 34 “___ you hungry, dear?” 35 Animated aardvark on TV 36 Owned 38 Damaging gossip 39 Liquid- confiscating org. 40 The Gay Nineties and others 43 Take to court 44 Sound of disapproval 46 Flow back 47 Vibes well with a group 49 Modern party notice 51 Go through a purse, perhaps (2 to 5) 53 Sends elsewhere 55 Tourette’s symptom 56 Jonathan Van ___ (nonbinary grooming expert on “Queer Eye”) 57 “La Vie en Rose” singer Edith 59 Bill dispensers 61 “Almost,” or a theme hint 68 Katz’s, for one 69 Take time off 70 Group of candidates 71 Viewed 72 Yellowstone grazers 73 Went 90 on I-90, say DOWN 1 Vietnamese noodle soup 2 Canoe propeller 3 ___ Latin 4 Steadfast 5 Coke competitor 6 Leo’s birth mo., often 7 Funny Laurel 8 Give a ___ welcome 9 Shakespeare nickname 10 Seek office 11 At least 30, for a U.S. senator 12 For each 14 Stonewall ___ (site of a seminal uprising in LGBTQ+ history) 18 “That would sound about right” 19 Capital of Qatar 22 “So it seems” 23 Flowing handwriting 24 Pretend 26 Occupy 28 “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” e.g. 29 Utterly destroyed 30 Shows up to 32 Contraception option: Abbr. 33 Wander (about) 37 In reality 41 Oil type at a dispensary 42 Knight’s honorific 45 Intervenes 48 Throat parts 50 Most common lake in crosswords 52 16-Across creatures 54 Buffalo NHL player 58 Kerosene, for many jets 60 Roast hosts, briefly 61 LPs’ successors 62 California representative Barbara 63 Spanish cheer 64 Sound of disapproval 65 Gender pay ___ 66 Devoured 67 Rainbow’s top color East Oregonian A15 HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021 New Moon Preparations Inside every new moon, there’s an opportunity to start fresh with a project, relationship or area of your life. The Gemini influence on tomorrow’s prospects will center around the social and intellectual. Who and what you know will alter your destiny. Discover and guide your curiosity to ready yourself for tomorrow’s new moon and eclipse. ARIES (March 21-April 19). One quest that’s worthy of you is the quest to become masterful at reading the room. Even the most familiar rooms have more to offer once you tune into their particular frequency and adjust your own accordingly. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). The action won’t be controlled. This scene has a force too strong for one person to thwart or even steer, but it can be influenced, nudged along in a way that will make a difference. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’ll use different words and make updates to the way you present yourself both in person and in the digital realm. Your fresh style will bring social and professional opportunity. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Disappointment isn’t an appointment worth keeping. The way to avoid it is to set your expectations well. This takes both awareness and research. Who are you dealing with? What patterns exist already? LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Belief is the code that programs the mind. Once a thing is believed, the perceived world automatically organizes around that belief, which becomes like sheet music that the world plays its song to. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The cool lettering on an inspiring picture wants to be the truth, but the truth rarely presents in such a glamorous way. The truth is more likely to be uncomfortably blurted out, its grittiness taking nothing away from its power. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). People flock to the ocean, pay more to live near it, travel great distances to see it. Its enormity, ceaseless movement and unfathomable danger make it mesmerizing. Romantic love is mesmerizing for the same reasons. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). It’s easier to be philosophical about a thing when you’re the one in control of the decisions around it. When decisions are made by others that affect your world, it’s action, not philosophy, that puts things right. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Whether or not you land a certain job will depend partly on luck and other circumstances, but keeping it or leveraging it into something even better will be contingent on what you give to the work. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). People who say they need a fast answer or the offer goes away are using scarcity tactics. If you already know what you want, you don’t have to be squeezed for the deal to close. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). People are drawn together out of mutual need, and they typically drift apart when those needs either aren’t met or are no longer needs. Lasting relationships depend on periodic updates and renewals. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Socializing is a dance you’re good at, as you easily tune into other people’s rhythms. You know when to go forward, pull back, sidestep and more. Because of this, you’ll be a sought-after partner. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (June 9). Your cosmic birthday gift is enough restlessness to fuel a big, beautiful adventure! Emboldened by change, you’ll dive into strange environments and come away with many boons and benefits. Developments in your personal life give you a sense of security. You’ll be appointed to a position in 2022. Scorpio and Sagittarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 4, 33, 2, 40 and 15. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS HOROSCOPES BY HOLIDAY MATHIS THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021 Solar Eclipse Festival It’s like a festival of cosmic events with the solar eclipse, new moon and a conjunction of the sun to Mercury as well. With all this action in Gemini, the air positively crackles with social excitement, conversational brilliance and a sense that the group is moving forward together in fresh ways. We own the moment; the moment is ours. ARIES (March 21-April 19). Keeping up a frantic pace of life can feel reassuring on some levels, as all the interaction and responsibility can pass for a sense of importance. You’ll slow it down and learn something interesting about yourself. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). The dance of friendship is complex and seemingly nonsensical. Friends tell each other lies out of kindness, and they tell each other the truth out of kindness, too. These decisions will be instinctive and immediate. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Other people’s lives may look a certain way from the outside, but they may as well exist on a moon of Jupiter for all you really know about them. There’s so much benefit to concerning yourself strictly with your own world today. CANCER (June 22-July 22). If the only way you can help others is silly and impractical, you just may be providing a more profound sort of help than you know. Everyone needs levity. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The superior satisfaction of self-righteousness can be delicious indeed, which is why so many cannot resist. But judging others is also mightily unattractive, so you may opt to protect your looks with a “live and let live” stance. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). As much as you enjoy a good story, you also prize the days like this one, where everything goes so smoothly that there is no conflict or obstacle large enough to mention. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The so-called secret isn’t one. It’s not even hidden! And it’s not costly either. The “secret” is just another accessible option that people miss because it rather unglamorously blends in. Step back. What’s everyone overlooking? SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). It’s like only one door can be opened at a time. You open a new one, and that closes all other options. But move forward in confidence anyway because none of your current options is drastically different from the others. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You have this ability to make other people feel that while they are with you, whatever the two of you are doing is preferable to what anyone else in the world could possibly be up to. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Things don’t have to be high-drama to be exciting. In fact, these days, you prefer your drama to be in the world of entertainment, not in your real life. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your moods, behaviors, attitudes and actions will go down in history in the sense that others will remember what it’s like to interact with you. That reputation will be part of your legacy. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Life is not a test with option D, “all of the above,” and today you will need to make a definite choice. The good news is making a decision now saves you from making an excuse later. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (June 10). You know and expect exactly what you want. Your clarity brings about magic. Seldom does something you’ve wished for just sail in from out of the blue and plop right into your open hand, but that’s exactly what will happen. A key relationship opens the door to new professional and financial avenues. Taurus and Cancer adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 4, 33, 35, 2 and 15. Universal SUDOKU SOLUTIONS